Swedish Port Stoppage Only Lasted 45-Minutes

Members of the Swedish Transport Workers’ Union (STWU) walked out at noon on Wednesday following the breakdown of negotiations with the Swedish Road Transport Employers Association (SRTEA). But a short time later the strike was called off after the employer agreed to a new contract, one of the stipulations of which is a three step wage increase.

ITF acting general secretary Stephen Cotton said: “The wage increase is great, but more importantly than that this new contract is also a big step forward in terms of the job security of STWU workers. It’s been agreed that when a transport company wants to take on a temporary employer for a job, although the union won’t be able to veto the use of agency workers, they will be automatically given the opportunity to negotiate and whilst those negotiations take place the agencies can’t be used.”

This marks significant progress in an area where for a long time there has been no movement whatsoever from transport companies. It’s a major breakthrough for transport workers in Sweden.”

The ITF added that the strike also involved workers outside the transport sector such as refuse collectors and guards who were not included in the new contract deal.